Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio said his administration will look like the city. (Photo by Julius Motal/Voices of NY)

A government that looks like the city is what Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio vowed to assemble during a reception at the “Somos el Futuro” conference, which gathered elected officials from New York City and State in San Juan, Puerto Rico over the weekend.

During a 10-minute speech on November 8, de Blasio asserted that he’s aware of the responsibility to have greater diversity within his administration, which should include a reasonable representation of Latinos. Hispanics account for about 30 percent of the city’s population.

De Blasio stressed that his platform – which includes building more affordable housing, ending “stop and frisk,” which affects a disproportionate number of African-Americans and Latinos, and funding universal pre-K programs – will lead to a better quality of life for Latinos.

“It’s time we had a government that truly understands the people it serves,” said de Blasio.

Asked by El Diario about possible appointments of Latinos to key positions, de Blasio limited himself to saying that it is very early in the process, but said that the search for qualified Latino candidates is in the hands of Ursulina Ramírez, whom he appointed as deputy director of his transition team.

As for the possibility of publicly supporting Puerto Rican Melissa Mark-Viverito for speaker of the City Council, de Blasio said he still hasn’t focused on that issue, but that he doesn’t rule it out in the future.

Mark-Viverito represents District 8, which includes parts of East Barrio and the South Bronx. She is running for the city’s second most powerful job against Annabel Palma, who is also Puerto Rican, and James Vacca – both from the Bronx – as well as Daniel Garodnick, of Manhattan, and Mark Weprin, of Queens.